Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?

KK wrote:I overheard two codgers speaking on the platform for the train, and one said he doesn't buy his food anymore from M&S because the staff are 'disproportionately black' or Lidl ('they're all from Poland', apparently). Worth noting they weren't even speaking in hushed tones.

Foaming at the mouth xenophobia or they didn't understand the pollster's questions? I can't comprehend it.

Reading that earlier this week made me wonder whether a lot of people being asked, on both sides but particularly Leave voters, will stubbornly suggest such selfish answers because they don't like the question implying they were wrong.

In reality, when push comes to shove I hope people aren't that horrible but I fear an enormous generational division is coming regardless. It's such a completely depressing thought that younger generations forced into a potential economic nightmare will take it out on their older relatives because they hold such stubborn, selfish views.

Some monstrous staff reductions going on at Sainsbury's and Tesco, some of which they're putting on the slump in the £...

Telegraph wrote:Sainsbury’s is taking the axe to more than 1,000 jobs at its head office as part of a giant £500m cost-cutting drive.

It is understood that a team of top consultants from McKinsey have been parachuted into the supermarket’s headquarters to draw up a staff reduction plan.

Sainsbury’s employs 3,000 staff outside of its stores, including at its Holborn base in London. It also has a separate human resources centre in Manchester, an IT team in Walsgrave, Coventry, and a banking division in ­Edinburgh. The exact number of job losses is expected to be announced next month.

It is the latest in a series of major shake-ups at the big supermarkets as they grapple with far-reaching changes in how Britain buys its food.

In March, Sainsbury’s announced it was slashing 400 jobs, with a further 4,000 employees facing major changes to their working hours, as part of a shake-up of night shift work at 140 stores.

The company said the cuts were necessary to avoid having to raise prices, which had fallen in its core grocery business following a slump in the pound.

Two years ago, 800 store staff lost their jobs as part of a three-year plan to slash costs by £500m. Then, last November Sainsbury’s announced a new £500m three-year, cost-saving target, just months after closing its £1.4bn takeover of Argos.

It is a pattern that is being repeated at the supermarket’s main rivals. The established chains have been unable to stem the loss of customers to convenience stores, discounters and online ­rivals.

They have responded by slashing prices and improving the quality of their products but, to offset the ­increased outlay, have scaled back their operations in an effort to become leaner and more efficient.

In June, Tesco unveiled 1,200 job losses at its head office, just one week after announcing 1,100 jobs would be culled at a call centre in Cardiff, as boss Dave Lewis steps up a sweeping cost-cutting drive.

Since taking charge of Tesco in 2014, Mr Lewis has more than lived up to his nickname “Drastic Dave”, which he was given at Unilever because of a willingness to dramatically rein in overheads. In his first year, Mr Lewis made nearly 10,000 employees redundant.

5,000 head office staff and UK store managers were let go, as well as more than 4,000 roles overseas and at the chain’s banking arm. In 2015, a further 2,500 positions were axed with the closure of nearly 50 underperforming stores.

Then, in April this year, a reduction in shelf-stacking night shifts in some of its biggest ­supermarkets put a further 3,000 posts at risk. The swingeing cuts are part of a turnaround plan in which Mr Lewis has pledged to save £1.5bn of costs.

Clive Black, analyst at Shore Capital, said that Sainsbury’s plans were “part of a structural shift happening across the industry to reduce operating costs to reflect the changes across the industry”.

He added: “Most of these supermarkets have had stagnating operations for some time that lacked the entrepreneurial spirit to make the workforce more efficient.” Senior sources said that Sainsbury’s was focused on reductions within its HR, and learning and development teams.

The supermarket, which employs 51,000 full-time staff and 130,000 part-time workers, spent £2.5bn on wages last year and a further £267m on social security and pension costs.

“We do not comment on speculation and would always make any announcement around jobs to our colleagues first,” a Sainsbury’s spokesman said.

Though Aldi are opening 300 new stores over the next 5 years (4,000 jobs), Lidl 120 shops in 2 years (2,000 jobs) so that will offset some job losses, but I can see things getting a lot tougher post-Brexit for the UK supermarkets.

And more shrinkflation...

Stella Artois shrinks cider bottles by 12 per cent but charges the same because of 'rising production costs'Brewing giant AB InBev, who also make Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s, have blamed a rise in production costs

Stella has shrunk its cider bottles by 12 per cent for the same price.

Stella Cidre Original and Cidre Pear have been cut from 568ml to 500ml.

Brewing giant AB InBev, who also make Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s, have blamed a rise in production costs.

A spokeswoman said new bottles were “in line with consumer preference for smaller pack formats.”

The ailing Stella Cidre brand has suffered losses of more than £22m, says trade magazine the Grocer.

Other cases of “shrinkflation” – cutting sizes but keeping prices – include Peperami, Doritos bags and Minstrels and M&M’s packs.

Last year Toblerone makers came under fire for increasing space between its chocolate triangles.

The Mirror revealed last year that Bulmers Cider slashed the volume of its bottles by 12 per cent, with a re-branding downsizing the product from 568ml to 500ml.

But supermarkets and pubs were still selling the product at the same or even higher prices than when the bottles were larger.

The change means a customer purchasing the Bulmers eight-bottle value boxes missed out on almost a pint bottle of cider - receiving just 4 litres of the drink instead of 4.544 litres previously.

Hexx wrote:To be fair - large swathes of Corbyn's own supporters seem unaware of his views.

They really are, it is bloody annoying. There are a bunch of hipster lefty types round my way I'm mates with and they seem to see him like some sort of jesus fella and are stunned and confused when I say I dislike him or refer to him as a gooseberry fool weasel.

Hexx wrote:To be fair - large swathes of Corbyn's own supporters seem unaware of his views.

They really are, it is bloody annoying. There are a bunch of hipster lefty types round my way I'm mates with and they seem to see him like some sort of jesus fella and are stunned and confused when I say I dislike him or refer to him as a gooseberry fool weasel.

TigaSefi wrote:it's too late for the 2nd ref. Even if it is remain now, we've lost all the good bits we had such as rebates. Depressing.

No it's not too late and we might not lose the rebates.

Article 50 says nothing about what happens if a country wants to withdrawal their withdrawal. The EU think it'd require all member states to agree, the writer of Article 50 thinks it's as simple as the country just withdrawing the resignation letter.

Nothing I've seen suggests the rebate would be at risk if Article 50 was undone.

Of course once we are properly out then it would be a bitch to rejoin and we definitely wouldn't be getting the rebate then!

No 10 has revealed it will release Brexit policy papers on key issues in the coming weeks, as it continues to play down the idea that Theresa May is prepared to pay a divorce bill of about €40bn (£36bn) to the EU.

The position papers are expected to cover crucial topics such as the UK’s preferred options for replacing the customs union and arrangements at the Northern Irish border ahead of the next round of talks with the EU.

They could also cover the financial formula to calculate Britain’s remaining obligations to Brussels, which the UK and EU will have to agree upon to progress to the next stage of talks on their future relationship.

So what to we think? Pragmatic, realistic and well thought out? Or naive nonsense that will get laughed at?

No 10 has revealed it will release Brexit policy papers on key issues in the coming weeks, as it continues to play down the idea that Theresa May is prepared to pay a divorce bill of about €40bn (£36bn) to the EU.

The position papers are expected to cover crucial topics such as the UK’s preferred options for replacing the customs union and arrangements at the Northern Irish border ahead of the next round of talks with the EU.

They could also cover the financial formula to calculate Britain’s remaining obligations to Brussels, which the UK and EU will have to agree upon to progress to the next stage of talks on their future relationship.

So what to we think? Pragmatic, realistic and well thought out? Or naive nonsense that will get laughed at?